Knitting machine and method



NOV. 26, 1940. v LQMBARD] 2,223,072

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed July 9, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR- Vincmt Lombardi,

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 26, 1940.

v. LQMBARDI 2,223,072

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed July 9, 1935 4 Sheets-Shae; 2

INVENTOR, zlmantfl mbamdi,

ATTORNEY.

NOV. 26, 1940. v LCMBARD] 2,223,072

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed July 9, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i I I 49INVENTOR,

K'mcemtLmnlrM-J,

BY 7 M 44%..

ATTORNEY.

V. LOMBARDI KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Nov. 26, 1940.

Filed July 9, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR, M Lombardi; BY WM /M mmmwm mm M/ Q "W .6

ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 26, 1940 UNiTED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE KNITTING MACHINE ANDMETHOD Application July 9, 1935, Serial No. 30,451

31 Claims. (Cl. 66-42) This invention relates to knitting machines andmethods, and particularly to knitting mechanisms and procedures adaptedfor use in the production of design fabrics and to certain correlatedinventions and discoveries appertaining thereto.

An object of the invention is the provision of simple and readilyconstructed mechanisms which are adapted for the production of fabricsembodying 'various of a large number of attractive designs.

A more specific object is the provision of improved mechanism for theproduction of design fabrics by beard needles.

Another more specific object is the provision of improved means for theselective control of auxiliary knitting elements such as sinkers, dialneedles, and other auxiliary elements of various types.

Another object is the provision of improved means for selectivelyoperating needles or other knitting elements.

A further object is the provision of mechanisms adapted for use withfine-gage machines.

Still another object is the provision of simple and effective procedureswhereby various feature or design fabrics may be formed with particularcase and efficiency.

An additional object is the provision of improved elements utilizablefor knitting operations.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts and the several stepsand the relation and order of one or more such steps with respect toeach of the others thereof all of which will be exemplified hereinafterand the scope of the-application of which will be indicatedinthe-claims.

For a fuller-understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a small scale diagrammatic plan view of a knitting machineembodying the invention; i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a greatly-enlarged somewhat diagrammatic horizontal sectionalong the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic side view illustrating a manner ofoperation;

Fig. 5is a downwardly extended view similar to Fig. 2 on an enlargedscale and illustrating certain operative positions;

Fig. 6 is a similar view illustrating other operative positions;

Fig. '7 is a view of a portion of Fig. 4 on a larger scale;

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing two needles and pressers utilized;

Fig. 9 is a somewhat diagrammatic side view 10 of the needles andsinkers;

Fig. 10 is a detail horizontal section along the line llL-lll of Fig. 5;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view of the mechanism of Fig. '7, lookingoutwardly; v

Fig. 12 is a view similar to the upper port1on of Fig. 5 showing asimpler form of construction;

Fig. 13 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of construction;

Fig. 14 is a somewhat diagrammatic side view 20 of the needles andsinkers of Fig. 13;

Figs. 15 and 16 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 9 respectively, showinganother modification;

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 12 showing another modification;

Fig. 18 is a similar view showing another modification;

Fig. 19 is a similar view showing another moditypes of fication; e

Figs. 20 and 21 are views similar .to Figs. 10 and 7 respectively,showing another modification;

and

Fig. 22 is a fragmentary view'similar to Fig. 4,, showing a supplementalarrangement. v

The production of design fabrics on heard needle machines has alwaysinvolved the use of complicated operating means. Moreover in manyinstances such means have been so constructed that their use wasunsatisfactory from a practical, standpoint due to tendencies towardbreakage of the more frangible parts. Furthermore, it has been difiicultto construct operating mechanisms so that they will be adapted fordesign formation on fine-gage machines, wherein as many as twenty toforty needles an inch are often utilized. While various suggestionstoward overcoming one or another of the foregoing dimculties have beenmade, the fact remains that latch needles are still commonly relied onfor the practical production of design fabrics. Furthermore, in order toadapt the usual beard needle knitting machine to produce design fabrics,it has been considered necessary to utilize needle-selecting means, andindependent presser-selecting means. Moreover, in

the use of both beard needles and latch needles,

there are many instances wherein the operations of sinkers, of needlespositioned differently from the main needles, or of other auxiliaryknitting elements should'be controlled in accordance with the manner inwhich the main needles are controlled; but where such control has beeneffected, it has ordinarily been brought about by a duplication ofcontrol mechanisms, which added greatly to the complication and expenseof the operation and the machine and which lacked the desiredpositiveness of operation, and which were in many cases unadapted foruse in fine-gage ma-' chines.

Again there have been distinct limitations the selection of needles orother knitting ele-- ments to perform design operations, due to lack ofpositiveness of control and due to unsatisfactory formation of theparts.

With the foregoing and other considerations in view, the presentinvention in various of its aspects contemplates the provision of asimple and eifective procedure and of simple and effective means soarranged that there is a minimum tendency toward breakage of parts,whereby beard 'needles may be so manipulated as to produce any of a widevariety of design fabrics, including tuck-stitch fabric, welt-stitchfabric, and interlock fabrics such as those disclosed in my Patents Nos.1,541,230 and 1,728,293, among others; and also contemplates theprovision of improved means whereby sinkers, auxiliary needles, andother auxiliary knitting elements may be effectively controlled inresponse to a selective needle movement without duplication of selectingmeans for the production of a wide variety of stitch manipulations,including those above indicated; and furthermore contemplates theprovision of especially positive and effective means for the productionof design fabric, particularly on fine-gage machines. Likewise theinvention contemplates the provision of improved knitting methods.

Among the features of the invention are the provision of mechanismincluding beard needles and including also beard pressers which areuperated as a result of the operation of the needles; the provision ofsimple mechanism whereby auxiliary knitting elements may be selectivelycontrolled, and more particularly may be controlled in response to theoperation of the needle-controlling means; the provision of selectingmeans which operates in a particularly positive manner; the avoidance ofcomplicated operating means; and the provision of mechanism which willoperate with certainty and eflectiveness even when the needles are veryclosely spaced.

In accordance with the invention, there may be provided beard presserswhich are operated directly by the needles or by certain ones thereof,or by elements which act on such needles, so that the operation of abeard presser or a plurality of beard needles will be dependent upon theoperation of a particular needle. In accordance with the invention alsothere may be provided means which are utilizable in a beard needlemachine, a latch needle, or other type of machine to operate auxiliaryknitting elements selectively in any of a variety of desirable ways inaccordance with the operation of the means which ac tuates the needle orother main knitting element, 7

and in a direct and simple manner.

By means of the invention there may be produced fabrics of manydesirable types including those disclosed in my Patent Nos. 1,541,230,

Such a procedure is highly effective in the formation of interlock ordouble interlock fabric (as,

described in my Patents 1,541,230 and 1,728,293) in a particularlysimple manner. All that is necessary is to advance a plurality ofadjacent beard needles to a yarn-receiving level to receive yarn, toretract the same, and to press their beards while being retracted atcertain stages; and to place only alternate or otherwise spaced ones ofsaid needles on a yarn-receiving level to receive yarn, and to retractthem without pressing the beards at other stages.

The utilization of mechanism such as contemplated by the inventionenables the production of a wide variety of design fabrics, includingthose above indicated, on a beard needle machine, and also permits alarge number of desirable variations inknitting operations to beobtained with ease and certainty.

While the invention is exemplified as embodied in a circular knittingmachine having a rotatable needle cylinder, it will be understood thatthe bed on which the needles or other controlled elements are carriedmay be of any desired shapeor form and may be stationary or movable asdesired. If the bed is movable, actuating means carried on a stationarysupport will be utilized, whereas if the bed is stationary actuatingmeans which revolve about or otherwise move past the bed in manners wellknown in the 7 art may be utilized.

The particular mechanism exemplified in Figs. 1-11 embodies a stationaryannulus 24, carrying cams, pattern members and other actuatingmechanism, and a rotatable bed 25 of cylindrical form providing aboutits periphery a see ries of vertical slots 26 which may if desired bevery closely spaced, as for example 30 'or more to the inch. In each ofa multiplicity of these slots, and ordinarily all of them, there isdisposed for vertical sliding movement a needle 21. As will be seen, thecylindrical bed and the actuating mechanism are mounted for relativemovement in a direction extending longitudinally (in this casecircumferentially) of the bed, and the needles are mounted for movementin a direction extending longitudinally of the needles but laterally ofthe bed. Each of the needles is formed with a spring beard 28 of theusual type adapted to be pressed inwardly for knitting. As exemplified,vertically slidable beard pressers 29 are provided in the slots for thispurpose. As will be understood, when a beard presser is operative, thebeard of a needle which has just received a new yarn while in anadvanced position may be pressed by the beard presser upon itsretraction, so that a body yarn lying upon the front of the needle willride over the beard and against a loop to be knitted; whereas, when thebeard presser is not operative, the body yarn will slide under the beardand be held therein along with the sired designs.

during the retraction of the needles when they are in an advancedposition, but to ride beneath the cam 39 when they are not in anadvanced position. In order to prevent the presser from being pulleddownwardly by the friction of the needle-beard or by other action, thepresser is formed with a projection 3| adapted to extend over the cam39. The pressers are retained within the slots 21 by means of an annularspring 33 which fits in a recess 34 in the outer edge of the presser.The recess 34 is longitudinally extended so as to permit the desiredsliding movement of the presser, the shoulders at the top and bottom ofthe recess acting'to provide positive limits to the longitudinalmovement of the pressers. Each presser is provided with a portion 35which is held against its needle to retain the upper portion of theneedle shank against the rear wall of its slot under the influence ofthe retaining spring 33. As will be seen, the portion 35 is so formed asto permit the presser to rock upon it as a pivot at such portions of theoperation as may be desirable for the production of the do- In thepresent instance, in order to facilitate the production of designfabric, such for instance, as interlock fabric, there are utilized twotypes of needles as indicated at 210. and 21b (see Fig. 8), these beingarranged in alternation .in the present instance; and two types of beardpressers 29a, and 29b are associated with the needles 21a and 21b,respectively. The beard pressers 21a and 21b of each pair are united bya pin 31. The beard presser 29a extends downwardly and has a. lowersurface 38 which is adapted to be engaged by a surface 39 on the needle21a toward the end of the advancing movement of the needle. The presser29b is shorter and is advanced only as a unit with the presser 29a.Accordingly, when one (21a) of the pair of needles withwhich the pair ofbeard pressers is associated is advanced, the pressers willbe advanced;whereas when the other (21b) of the needles is advanced, the beardpressers will not be actuated. Thus a highly desirable selective controlmay be effected and needles may be permitted to receive a yarn and knit,or receive a yarn without knitting, as desired for the production of aninterlock fabric as described, for instance, in my Patents Nos.1,541,230 and 1,728,293 (and 1,728,294), or of welt-stitch,-tuck-stitch, or other design fabrics.

While needles constructed and operated in any desired manner may beutilized for the positioning of beard pressers in accordancewith theinvention, the needles 2'; are exemplified as constructed and operatedin a manner such that needle operation is facilitated and madeparticularly positive. This feature of theinvention is applicable toboth beard and latch needles and to other knitting elementswhereinsimilar problems apply. As exemplified, the needles 21a areprovided with lower ends 40 which are movable inwardly so as to pivot ata point 4|, and the shank of the needles is narrowed at 42 to permitbending at this point during the inward movement, the top of the needlesbeing held fully within the slot bythe portions 35 of the pressers.Selection of the needles 21a before each yarn feed at which selection isdesired is'obtained by the provision of a rotary pattern member 44,.having selectively disposed about its periphery a multiplicity ofactuators 45 which are removably held between plates 45 and 46', as willbe seen from Figs. 5 and 10. Whenever there is an actuator member 45this will engage the end 40 of the needle during the relative movementof the needle bed and the actuator mechanism and the actuator memberwill press the end inwardly.

The rotary pattern member, in the present instance, is in the form of apattern wheel having 5 slots 41 in which the actuators 45 are held andwhich may receive the ends v4|) of the needles to drive the wheel duringthe relative movement of the needle bed and the actuator mechanism. Thewheel may be gear-driven, if desired. A cam 48 is provided to assurethat the ends 49 will be in an outward position when the wheel 44operates. As will be seen, theneedles 21b do not extend downwardly tothe portion of the machine where the pattern wheel 44 is operative, anda single pattern wheel may, accordingly, be utilized to make theselections even in a fine-gage machine. Each of the ends 49 on theneedles 21a carries a butt 48 which, as exemplified, is shaped in aparticular manner, the construction being claimed in my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 76,754, filed April 28, 1936. This butt, whenthe end is in its normal outward position, is engaged by a cam 49 toadvance the needle a desired distance. The butts 48' and the cam 49preferably have outwardly-sloping cooperating surfaces to insure againstslipping.

The needles 21a and 211: are formed, respectively, with mainbutts. 59aand 59b adapted to be engaged by a cam 5|. The cam 5| has a lowersurface 52 which is adapted to partially advance the needles to aposition where'the butts 48' on the needles 21a will be engaged by thecam 49 if theirends 49 are not pressed inwardly, and which are adaptedto. advance the needles to a point for further selective action. It isto be noted that the butts 59a are shorter than the butts 59b and arepointed as indicated at 53. v The cam 5| is formed with a slot 54adapted to receive the butts 50a which ride up the surface 40 52 to theslot. However, the cam 49 is steeper than the cam 5|, so that when abutt 48' is engaged by the cam 49 the needles will be moved rapidlyupwardly and will clear the slot 54, as will be clear from Figs. 4, 7,and 11. The butts 59b of the needles 21b are so long that they willclear the slot. Those needles 21a whosebutts enter the slot 54 will bedrawndownwa-rdly by an inclined portion 55 of the slot, whereas theneedles 21b and those needles 21a. which were passed by the patternwheel and acted on by the cam 49, will ride upwardly on an upper portion55 of the surface of the cam 5|. Accordingly, as the needles leave thecam 5|, all of the needles 21b" will be in an advanced position andcertain of the needles 21a will be in an advanced position, while othersof the needles 21a will be in a re-. tracted position.

Those of the needles 21a which are advanced;

pass the yarn, thus providing for a welt-stitch fabric, or, when thepositioning of the needles or some of the needles in the sections a andb or c and d are reversed at the next yarn feed, for the production ofan interlock fabric. By means of the usual stitch-cam, such as shown aat 51, the needles are retracted to a position indicated in Figs, 2 and8 after reception of 7 pressed will cast loops.

yarn from a yam-carrier 58, the retraction being sufiicient so that theneedles whose beards are A cam 59 is provided to restore the needles. Aswill be apparent, the butts 48' are unaffected by these cams.

The beard pressers are retracted by a cam 60 acting against butts 6| onthe beard pressers. The selecting action of cam 49 may be eliminated atsuch portions of the operation as may be desirable for the production ofthe desired designs. This may be accomplished by mounting the cam on arod 62 carrying an arm 63 which is held against a pattern chain 64 bymeans of a spring 65. Protuberances 66 on the pattern chain will movethe arm 63 to withdraw the cam 49 from operative position. When the camis thus withdrawn, no knitting will occur, but the needles 21b willcontinue to catch the yarn so that gathered efiects may be produced. Aswill be apparent, needles which are similar to the needles 21, exceptthat their yarnmanipulating portions carry a latch, rather than a beard,may be advantageously used in many instances, and needle-operatingmechanism of the character indicated may readily be utilized to actuatethese or other suitable types of knitting elements in accordance, withthis feature of the invention. As will also be apparent certain of thesubsidiary features may be utilized in machines wherein the needles areall of the same type.

There are many instances where a difierent sinker operation will berequired in difierent parts of the fabric as when difierentmanipulations of a yarn are desired in parts of a fabric where theknitting of a certain yarn occurs and in parts where this yarn isunknitted, or when a yarn is to be knitted tightly and loosely indiiferent parts of the fabric, or when some other variation is desired.In the embodiment exemplified in Figs. 1-11, there is provided anarrangement whereby an auxiliary yarn may be formed into hanging loops,such for instance asused in toweling at the same time as a main yarn isknitted, but where the hanging loops will not be formed where the mainyarn is unknitted. In the particular arrangement exemplified the yarncarrier 58 is formed to feed a. main yarn 61 and a supplemental yarn 68,and adjacent to each needle there is provided a main sinker 69 and asupplemental sinker 10. Pins 31 connecting the pressers are extendedbeyond one of the pressers, as indicated at 1|, so that they may enternotches 12 on a pair of supplemental sinkers 10. The main sinkers 69 arecut away to provide notches 13 to permit reception and movement of thepins. A cam 14 acts on the lower end of the pressers to swing themoutwardly during their upward movement so that the pins 31 and theirextensions will enter the notches 12. The sinkers 69 and 10 are normallymanipulated'by butts 14' and 15 fitting. into a sinker cam groove 16 ofthe usual type, as indicated in Fig. 3.

The butts 14' on the main sinkers 69 are of the same extent as the widthof the cam groove, but the butts on the supplemental sinkers 19 are ofless extent so that these sinkers may be independently moved. Thenotches 13 in the sinkers are of sufficient extent so that in thepresent in stance these sinkers will not be efiected by a movement ofthe pressers which will cause a de- 1 sired inward movement of thesupplemental sinkers. A cam 11 is provided to act on those presserswhich have been advanced to move them inwardly directly after thepassage of the yarn carrier and the inward movement of the cam sinkersby the cam groove. In operation whenever the pressers are advanced bythe action of the needles 21a the pressers will be swung by the cam 14so that their pins 31 will enter the notches 12 at the end of theiradvancing movement. After the reception of a yarn by the needles, thecam- 11 will move the pressers inwardly to advance the supplementalsinkers 10. In order to free the sinkers from the pressers so that theseparts may thereafter be independently controlled, there is provided acam 18 which draws the pressers downwardly just enough so as to move thepins out of the notches. It is to be observed that the needles andpressers are advanced somewhat more than would otherwise be necessary inorder to allow for this slight retracting movement. This retractingmovement may be very slight, but is exaggerated in the drawings for thesake of clarity. The sinkers should be so formed, as with bends, orshould be so set in the sinker slots, that the frictional resistancewill be suflicient to prevent the immediate withdrawal of thesupplemental sinkers after the removal of the pins from the notches.After this retracting movement, the retraction of the needles by thestitch cam, the operation of the pressers by the cam 30, the withdrawalof the sinkers by the. cam groove, and the final retraction of thepressers by the cam 60 may be carried out in a manner, which will bereadily apparent.

Preferably the pressers are formed with holes 19 for the reception ofthe pins and the pins are frictionally set in these holesso as to permitpins of different lengths to be pressed through the holes of one or morepressers as desired.

It will be appreciated that the supplemental sinkers may be omittedthroughout the machine or at desired portions of the machine inaccordance with the requirements of aparticular case.

As will be apparent, while the provision of this sinker control featureis advantageous in many instances, it may readily be omitted withoutaffecting the advantages attained by the other feaures of the invention.For example, there is shown in Fig. 12 a desirable simple form ofconstruction which may be similar in every respect to that shown inFigs. 1-11 except that the pins, as indicated at 310, are disposed at alower point of the pressers, and the supplemental sinkers, as well asthe cam 11 and the notches in the main sinkers 690 are omitted. Theneedle-operated pressers may be made shorter and the cam 18 may beomitted. This arrangement has a wide utility in the many fields in whichno supplemental control is desired. The pins may be set at any desiredpoint.

There are mam; instancesin which compactness of mechanism and simplicityof operation are of less importance than flexibility of the operationand variability in the stitch production. In such instances it isdesirable that each needle be independently controlled. For this purposethere may be utilized a construction such as exemplified in Figs. 13 and14 wherein a series of similar beard needles 21:! are provided on a bed25d. Each needle is. provided with an independent presser 29d similar tothe presser 29a, except that it is unconnected with any other presser.The construction may be such that the pressers will not aifect thesinkers, a sinker arrangement such as utilized in Figs. 1-11 may beutilized, or other suitable arrangement may be provided. In theparticular construction exemplified, the pressers are formed with holes19d and individual to the needles. has a plurality of steppedcam-engaging surfaces short pins 31d are provided in the holes ofcertain of the pressers. The main sinkers 69d are provided with notches82 for the reception of these pins, and presser-operating cams 'lld,'Ild, 18d, 30d and 60d are provided. The cam groove 16d is provided withan additional recess 88 to permit the movement of the sinkers under theinfluence of the cam 11d. In the exemplified embodiment, those presserswhich are formed with pins 31d, as at the left-hand side of Fig. 14,actuate the sinkers to provide for a looser knit, whereas those presserswhich are not provided withpins, as at the right-hand side of Fig. 14,do not actuate the sinkers even whenthe pressers are advanced, so as toprovide a tighter knit at those portions of the fabric knitted byneedles equipped with pinless pressers. As above indicated, all of thepressers, or none of them, may be provided with pins, or any othersuitable arrangement may be utilized. Likewise pressers may be arrangedin units, only one presser of the unit being actuable by its needle, ashereinafter described, for example.

As exemplified, the needles 21d are actuated by mechanism such as shownin my co-pending application, Serial No. 720,921, filed April 1'7, 1934,now Patent No. 2,025,463 comprising rockers 84 Each of the rockers 85and 86 at its lower end adapted to cooperate -with the cam 81 to advancethe rocker and the needle. If the rocker is in the position shown bydotted lines, neither surface will be engaged and the rocker will not bemoved. If the rocker is'in the position shown in full lines, the surface85 will be engaged and the rocker will be moved enough to partiallyadvance the needle. If the rocker is in the position shown in dot anddash lines, the surface 86 will be engaged and the rocker will be movedenough to fully advance the needle. Only in the latter case will thepresser be advanced sufliciently to be engaged by the cam 30, whereas ayarn will be received by the needle whether it is in a partiallyadvanced or in a fully advanced position. Thus the needle will knit andthe sinker GM will be advanced by the presser only when a needle isfully advanced. In order to set the rockers, they may all be swung tothe position shown in dotted lines, as by a suitablecam 81', and thenacted on by a pattern wheel 88 wherein actuators are selectivelydisposed in slots 89 and 90. As exemplified these slots are provided intwo rows to facilitate operation in finegage machines, the slots beingstaggered so that an actuator in an upper slot will swing one rocker andan actuator in a lower slot will swing a successive rocker. Actuators 9|and 92 of different lengths are provided, the shorter actuators beingprovided where a rocker is to be swung to a position shown in full linesand the longer actuators being provided where a rocker is to be swung tothe position shown in dot and dash lines. If no actuator is provided,the rocker will remain in the position shown in dotted lines. Thepattern wheel is driven by means of a gear 83 meshing with the rockers.

As will be apparent, rocker mechanism such as facilitate the actuationthereof by a patternwheel of the type shown as for use in fine-gagemachines. In instances, however, where the gage is coarser or where apattern wheel may be of finer gage, or where other selecting means, suchfor instance as a pattern wheel similar to the pattern wheel 88, may beutilized, needles of the character shown at 21c and 211) may beararranged in any desired manner. In Figs. 15 and 16, there is shown anarrangement adapted for production of interlock fabric wherein theunknitted yarn may float back of two wales, and where other variationsmay be formed. The operation will be readily apparent from thesefigures, the needles 21a and 21b being arranged as indicated, and a pin3'! running in each instance from a presser 29a, in one direction or theother, to a presser 29b. The pattern wheel in this instance will beformed with slots so arranged that wherever a needle 2laoccurs, it maybe pressed by an actuator.

As will be apparent, if, for example, two or more needles 21b withassociated pressers 29b are provided between successive needles 21a withassociated pressers 29a, and the two or more pressers 2% connected, asby a pin 31, to move with a single presser 29a, three or more pressersmay be actuated as a single unit by one needle of a group, when desired.

Pressers may be arranged to operate in response to the needle movementin a variety of manners. For example, instead of being arranged as aboveexemplified, they may be arranged as indicated in Fig. 17 wherein thepressers 29c are disposed for pivotal movement on a retaining spring 94.In this instance, the needles 21c are mounted on a bed 25 and may beoperated by mechanism such as above described in any other suitablemanner. Pairs or groups of pressers may be worked by only one needle ofa pair or group, or independent pressers may be individually worked. Ifindependent pressers are utilized, each needle is provided with aprojection 95 which bears against a surface 96 on the presser to swingit into the path of a cam 91 whereby it is held in beard pressingposition during the retraction of the needle. If pressers operating inunits are utilized, the projections 95 will be formed only on thoseneedles which are designed to cause the presser operation.

As above disclosed, the invention may be utilized for the control ofauxiliary knitting elements whether or not the main needles are beardneedles. For example, in Fig. 18 there is exemplified a constructionwherein latch needles 2' are provided in the slots of the needle bed251. Control elements 29!, which may be operated by the needles, as forexample in the manner in which the pressers 29 or the pressers 29d areoperated, are provided. These may be operated in units of two or more,or individually as desired, and are arranged to operate sinkers 69f bymeans of pins 31! entering notches. Hill in the sinkers. These sinkersare of a character commonly used for the production of hanging loops intoweling, and are arranged with a portion llllm adapted to be projectedbetween yarns lflln and llilp in the well known manner so that when theneedle is retracted the yarn I0ln will be drawn over the portion Ililmand will form a longer loop than the yarn Hp. As will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, the sinkers will be retained in positionduring a proper portion of the retraction of the needles. When a rangedthat their pins will only enter the notches when the needles have beenadvanced to casting level, and will not enter the notches when theneedles are advancd to a tucking level; or may be arranged to enter thenotches when the .needles which exercise the control are at one of twocasting levels to which they may be advanced. A selective operation ofthe needles may be efiectuated in any desired manner, as for instanceany of the manners and by any of the mechanism herein exemplified, or ina manner and by mechanism such as exemplified in my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 720,921, now Patent No. 2,025,463 hereinabovereferred to, or by other suitable mechanism, to obtain the desiredefiect.

In instances wherein it is desired to omit the special sinker operation,or the beard pressing operation, or both, during certain portions of theoperation of the machine, any of the cams I7, 30, etc., may be madeadjustable, so that they may be rendered inoperative either manually orby automatic means. In Fig. 18, there is exemplified an arrangementwherein the cam TI! is mounted on a rod I Mr which may be operated bymechanismwhich includes a pattern chain and which is similar to themechanism for operating the rod 62 for the control of the cam 49.

Various other types of auxiliary knitting elements may be similarlyoperated in accordance with the invention. In Fig. 19, there are shownneedles 21g which may be of a character shown in Figs. 1 -11 andoperated by similar mechanism, or may be of other character and/orotherwise operated. As exemplified, the needles are mounted on the bed25g and are provided with butts I02 which, as the needles are advanced,move a lever I03 upwardly; This lever I03 is pivoted upon a member I04which is adjustably mounted as indicated and carries at an outer end anoperating arm I05. Each operating arm I05 carries the end of the shankof a dial needle I01 in a fork I08. Each dial needle is provided with abutt. I09 which when the arm I05 and the dial needle are in an elevatedposition, will be engaged by the cam IIO to advance the dial needle forknitting. Cams III are provided to raise the operating arms and the dialneedles prior to the operation of the needles 27g. Accordingly, when a.cylinder needle 27g is advanced after the passage of the cam III, itwill raise the left-hand end of the lever I03 and lower its right-handend together with the arm I05 and the dial needle I01. In thissituation,

the needle 27g will be operative and the needle I07 inoperative. When,however, a needle -2Ig is not advanced after the passage of a cam I I I,the arm I 05 and the dial needle I01 will remain in an elevatedposition, the butt I09 of the needle I07 will be engaged by the cam Hand. the

needle I01 will be advanced, so that this needle,

rather than the needle 21g will be operative.

Needles such as shown in Figs. 1-11 or other knitting elements may bereadily operated in a variety of different manners, the lower ends ofthe needles being differently formed in certain cases. In Figs. 20 and21, there is shown an arrangement wherein the needles which operate thepressers, as indicated at 271111, are formed with short butts N2 of theusual type and is provided a cam II adapted to raise the short buttneedles but permitting these to be selectively pressed behind it. Forthe latter purpose there is provided a pattern wheel II6 which isobliquely disposed in the present instance and arranged to selectivelypress the butts of the short butt needles to cause them to ride beyondthe cam II5. Accordingly these short butt needles which are engaged byactuators II! on the pattern wheel will move behind the cam II5, whereasthose which enter empty slots on the pattern wheel will ride up thesurface of the cam H5. As will be seen, the pattern wheel is juxtaposedwith this cam surface. In order to facilitate the movement of theneedles or of the cam, as the case may be, the rear of the cam H5 isrecessed as at H0 to permit the lower ends of the needles to springoutwardly after they have passed the operative surfaces of the cam.

In various instances, it is desirable that all of the needles be placedin a retracted position during certain periods of operation, or that allthe needles be in a fully advanced position, or that none of the needlesbe in a fully advanced position during certain periods, and that thereis exemplified in Fig. 22 a construction wherein adjustable cams II 9andv I20 are provided between the cam 5| and the yarn feed and stitchcam 51. By the adjustment of the cam IIS to the dotted line position,all of the needles 21 may be fully advanced regardless of the operationof the pattern wheel 44. By the adjustment of the cam I20 to the dottedline position, all of the needles 2'! may be placed in a retractedposition and by the adjustment of this cam to the position shown in dotand dash lines, those needles which have been advanced by the cam 5| maybe partially retracted if desired. The cams II9 and I20 may be manuallyoperated, or may be operated automatically in any well known or suitablemanner, as for instance, by pattern chain arrangements of the natureindicated in Fig. 5. Certain subject matter disclosed but not claimedherein has been claimed in my copending application Serial No. 76,754,filed April 28, 1936, now issued as Patent No.. 2,124,304, dated July19, 1938'.

Since certain changes in the construction set forth and in the carryingout of the above method, which embody the invention, may be made withoutdeparting from its scope, it is intended that all matter contained inthe above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention claimed is:

1. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard nee-,

individual to said needles, means to selectively position the needles,means to position the beard pressers in accordance with the positioningof at least certain of said needles, means to operate the beard pressersin accordance with the positioning of the beard pressers, and means tooperate said auxiliary knitting elements in accordance with thepositioning of the beard pressers.

2. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard needleson said bed, means to selectively place needles at two levels, and meansto cause needles when placed at one of said levels to pass a yarncarrier without receiving yarn and to cause certain needles when placedat the other of said levels to receive a yarnand knit and to causecertain other of said needles when placed at said other of said levelseither to receive a yarn and knit or to receive yarn without knittingdepending on whether or not associated ones of said certain of saidneedles are placed at said other of said levels.

3. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable in a direction longitudinalof said bed, a series of beard needles on said bed, a beard presser unitmovable substantially laterally of said bed and adapted to control thebeards of a plurality of adjacent needles, and means to move said unitin response to the operation of a given one of said needles.

4. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard needleson said bed, a series of beard pressers, means to impart longitudinalselective movement to said needles, means to impart longitudinalmovement to the beard pressers in accordance with the movement of onlycertain ones of the selected needles, and means to operate only thosebeard 1 pressers which have been moved longitudinally.

5. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of slots in saidbed, a plurality of needles movable longitudinally in said slots, aseries of auxiliary knitting elements, a series of control elements forsaid auxiliary knitting elements, said control elements being individualto and adapted to be engaged by at least certain of said needles andbeing movable to operative position therewith and thereby, means forminga part of said actuator means to selectively impart longitudinal 5movement to said needles, and means forming part of said actuator meansto cause those of the control elements which are in operative positionto engage and to move said auxiliary knitting elements.

6. The method of forming. a design fabric embodying a plurality of yarnswhich comprises selectively placing needles on only two levels andcausing certain ofa plurality of adjacent needles placed at one of saidlevels to receive yarn, but not to knit when certain other of saidplurality of adjacent needles are at the other of said levels, no yarnbeingreceived by those of said plurality of adjacent needles which areat said other of said levels, and causing all of said plurality ofadjacent needles to receive yarn and to knit when all of said pluralityof adjacent needles are placed at said one of said levels.

7. The method of forming a design fabric which comprises selectivelyplacing a series of 75 needles on one or another of two'levels,selecmanipulating portions, said shanks being nar- 8. Knittingmechanism, comprising a bed and 1 0 .actuator means, said bed and saidactuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard needles onsaid bed, a series of beard pressers for pressing the beards of saidneedles, each beard presser comprising a beard pressing portion andshank portion, each shank portion being formed with a longitudinallyextended recess in the outer edge thereof, presser retaining meansextending thru said recesses, means to selectively impart longitudinalmovement to said pressers to position the same, cam means to operate thepositioned pressers, and means to prevent escape of the pressers fromthe cam means.

9. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of needles onsaid bed, said needles having yarn-manipulating portions, at leastcertain of said needles being provided with elongated shanks having in-'wardly movable ends, means providing for pivoting upon the bed duringsuch inward movement, means to prevent outward movement of theyarn-manipulating portions, said shanks being narrowed at a pointbetween said ends and said yarn-manipulating portions to permit bendingwhen an end is swung in, means forming part of said actuator means toselectively press said ends inwardly, and'means forming part of saidactuator means to operate said needles in accordance with the operationof said selecting means. 40

10. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and. actuator means, said bedand said actuator means being relatively movable, a series of needles onsaid bed, said needles having yarn-manipulating portions, 'at leastcertain of said needles being provided with elongated shanks havinginwardly movable ends, means providing for pivoting upon the bed duringsuch inward movement, means to prevent outward movement of the yarn- 50rowed at a point between said ends and said yarn-manipulating portionsto permit bending when an end is swung in, rotary pattern mechanismforming part of said actuator means and arranged to selectively pressthe ends of the needles inwardly, and means forming part of saidactuator mechanism to operate said needles in accordance with theoperation of said rotary pattern mechanism.

11. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of needles onsaid bed, said needles having yarn-manipulating portions, at leastcertain of said needles being provided with elongated shanks havinginwardly movable. ends, means providing for pivoting upon the bed duringsuch inward movement, means to prevent outward movement of theyarn-manipulating portions, said shanks being narrowed wardly, meansforming part of saidactuator means to operate said needles in accordancewith 75 v the operation of said selecting means, and means to rendersaid operating means inoperative when desired.

12. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of needles onsaid bed, said needles having a yarn-manipulating portions, at leastcertain of said needles being provided with elongated integral shankshaving inwardly movable ends, means providing for pivoting upon the bedduring such inward movement, means to prevent outward movement of theyarn-manipulating portions, said shanks being narrowed at a pointbetween the said ends and said yarn-manipulating portions to permitbending when an end is swung in, means forming a part of said actuatormeans to selectively press said ends inwardly, means forming a part ofsaid actuator means to operate said needles in accordance with theoperation of said selecting means, a series of controlelementsindividual to said needles and operable therebyin accordancewith theoperation thereof, a series of auxiliary knitting elements, andmeans to actuate said control elements in accordance with the operationof the control elements by said knitting elements, said actuation ofsaid control elements controlling the operation of said auxiliaryknitting elements.

13. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelements carriedby said bed, certain of said knitting elements being ofone length and others of said knitting elements being of another length,means forming part of said actuator means to move all of the knittingelements of one length and selected ones of the knitting elements ofanother length in a desired manner, and means also forming part of saidactuator means to select lfthose knitting elements of said other lengthwhich are to be moved.

14. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard nee- .Qdles carried by said bed, beard pressers individual to said needles,certain of said needles being of one character and others of saidneedles being of another character, means forming part of said actuatormechanism to advance all the needles of one character and to advanceselected ones of the needles of another character, means forming part ofsaid actuator mechanism to select which ones of said needles of anothercharacter are to be advanced, and means to cause a plurality of beardpressers to be advanced when a needle of said other character isadvanced but not to be advanced when a needle of said other character isunadvanced.

15. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and 1 actuator means, said bedand said actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelements on said bed, certain of said knitting elements having butts ofone character and other of the knitting elements having butts of anothercharacter, and a cam forming a part of said actuator mechanism and beingformed with a cam surface and with guide means adapted to receive buttsof one character when they butts of the other character when they movealong said cam surface and to guide said butts of one character to adesired position.

. 16.. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bedand said actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelemove along said cam surface but not to receive ments on said bed,butts on said knitting elements, a cam having a cam surface adapted toengage said butts, a slot in said cam constituting an interruption insaid surface and adapted to receive at least certain of said butts, andmeans to act on certain of said knitting elements to prevent their buttsbeing received by said slot.

17. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelements carried by said bed, a cam having an obliquely disposedoperative surface in the path of relative movement of portions of atleast certain of said knitting elements, and a pattern wheel rotating ina plane parallel to said surface and in juxtaposition thereto andarranged to selectively press toward said bed said knitting elements outof the path of relative movement of said cam.

18. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelements carried by said bed, a cam having an angularly disposedoperative surface in the path of relative movement of. portions of atleast certain of said knitting elements, a pattern wheel disposed at anangle corresponding to the angle of said surface and in juxtapositionthereto and arranged to selectively press said knitting elements out ofthe path of relative movement of said cam, and resilient means tendingto hold said portions in the path of relative movement of said cam, saidcam being recessed so as to permit the selected portions to movefreelypast it after they have passed said surface.

19. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable in a direction longitudinalof said bed, a series of beard needles on said bed, a plurality ofbeard-Dresser units movable substantially laterally of said bed and eachcontaining a plurality of beard pressers for pressing the beards of agroup of needles, and means to move each of said units along with one ofthe needles of the group controlled thereby.

20. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard needleson said bed, a series of beard pressers for pressing the beards of saidneedles, each'beard presser comprising a beard-pressin portion and shankportion, each shank portion being formed with a recess in the outer edgethereof, presser-retaining means extending into said recesses, saidrecess being extended longitudinally a distance greater than the widthof the presser-retaining to operate the positioned pressers, andmeansadapted to extend laterally of the cam means when the cam meansoperatively engage the pressers to prevent escape of the pressers fromthe cam means.

22. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelements movable transversely of saidbed, butts on said knittingelements, a yarn feed, a plurality of successive cam surfaces spaced inthe direction of knitting element movement and adapted to engage saidbutts and arranged to be operative in positioning the needles inconnection with the passage of said yarn feed, and means to cause thebutts on certain knitting elements to be engaged by one of said camsurfaces after having been engaged by the other of said cam surfaces,and to permit the butts of other of said knitting elements to pass fromsaid one of said cam surfaces into the space between said cam surfaceswithout being engaged by said other of said cam surfaces.

23. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of knittingelements carried by said bed, certain of said knittin elements being ofone length and others of said knitting elements being of another length,means forming part of said actuator means to move all of the knittingelements of one length and selected ones of the knitting elements ofanother length in a desired manner, means also forming part of saidactuator means to select those knitting elements of said other lengthwhich-are to be moved, and a series of control elements arranged ingroups each group being adapted to be operated by one of said knittingelements of another length.

24. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard needlescarried by said bed, certain of said needles being of one length andothers of said needles being of another length, a cam forming a part ofsaid actuator means to advance all of the needles of one length a givenextent and selected ones of the needles of another length a similarextent, and means also forming a part of said actuator means to selectthose needles of said other length which are to be moved.

25. Knitting mechanism comprising a series of longitudinally movablebeard needles, a beardpresser unit movable by and with only one of aplurality of said needles to beard-pressing position and adapted topress the beards of each of said plurality of said needles when somoved, and

means imparting a beard-pressing action to said unit when in saidposition.

26. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beard needlesmounted forsliding movement on said bed in a given direction, a seriesof beard pressers mounted for sliding movement in a similar direction,means to cause the beard pressers to press the beards of the needleswhen in an advanced position, said beard pressers and said needles beingso formed and arranged that a part of each of at least certain oi saidneedles will bear against a part associated with one or more beardpressers to cause the associated beard presser or pressers to beadvanced when the needle is advanced but that no parts of the needleswill bear against the beard pressers to retract the same during theretraction of the needles, and means forming part of the actuating meansto selec-.

tively advance the needles and to retract the same and to retract theadvanced beard pressers.

2'7. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bedand said actuator means being relatively movable, a series of beardneedles mounted for sliding movement on said bed in a given direction, aseries of beard pressers mounted for sliding movement in a similardirection, means to cause the beard pressers to press the beards of theneedles when in an advanced position, means forming part of saidactuator mechanism to selectively advance said needles and to retractthe same, means comprising mutually abutting portions on at leastcertain of the needles and at least certain of the beard pressers tocause the advance of one or more beard pressers when individual ones ofat least certain of said needles are advanced, and means acting at atime other than the beard pressing operation to retract the advancedpressers.

28. Knitting mechanism comprising a needle bed, a series oflnstrumentalities movable on said bed, a series of main sinkers,auxiliary sinkers associated with at least certain individual ones ofsaid main sinkers, means to selectively operate said instmmentalities,means to operate said main sinkers, and means responsive to theoperation of said instrumentalities to selectively operate saidauxiliary sinkers.

29. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed, a series of slots in said bed,a pluralityof needles movable longitudinally in said slots, a series ofsinkers, a series of control elements for said sinkers, said controlelements being individual to and adapted to be engaged by at leastcertain of said needles and being movable to operative position directlythereby, means to selectively impart longitudinal movement to saidneedles, and means to selectively operate said sinkers in accordancewith the positioning of said control elements, the last-mentioned meanscomprising means adapted to engage those control elements which havebeen moved to operative position and to cause the same to engage andoperate said sinkers.

30. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of slots in saidbed, a plurality of beard needles movable longitudinally in said slots,a series of sinkers, a series of control elements for said sinkers, saidcontrol elements being individual to at least certain of said needlesand being movable to operative-position therewith, means to selectivelyimpart longitudinal movement to said needles, and means to selectivelyoperate said sinkers in accordance with the positioning of said controlelements, said control elements being in the form of beard pressers.

31. Knitting mechanism comprising a bed and actuator means, said bed andsaid actuator means being relatively movable, a series of needlesmovable on said bed, means forming part of the actuator means toselectively control the operation of the needles, 9. series of auxiliaryknitting elements extending at a substantial angle to said needle bed, aseries of control elements individual to at least certain of saidneedles and individually responsive to the movement thereof, saidcontrol elements being adapted to control the actuation of saidauxiliary knitting elements, and each of said control elements beingadapted to be engaged by its needle during the movement thereof and tobe moved directly thereby andbeing also adapted after being so moved toengage at least one of said auxiliary knitting elements to actuate thesame, and means to operate said control elements after being so moved.

VINCENT LOMBARDI.

